1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to systems and methods for processing and resolving transactions, and more specifically to systems and methods for collecting debt and/or managing information relating to debt using a computer network.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certain types of financial transactions, and particularly the resolution of such financial transactions, entail complex, time consuming, and frequently expensive methods directed toward gathering information related to the financial transaction. For example, debt resolution tends to require investigating the ability of the debtor to satisfy the debt, the terms under which the debt may be settled to the satisfaction of the creditor, and collection of the debt by typically telephoning or otherwise personally contacting the debtor, previous creditors and/or credit bureaus, and/or financial institutions, in an effort to compile a complete profile of the debtor. Complexities arise in the information gathering process of the debt resolution setting when certain restrictions are put in place, such as an inability for a debt collector to leave appropriate messages for the debtor at his or her place of work, issues regarding who may obtain a credit report and under what conditions a credit report may be obtained, and so on.
Another transaction resolution scenario involves the field of insurance claim settlements. Again, resolution of an insurance claim requires investigation or projection into the amount the claimant is willing to accept, the amount the insurer is willing to offer, and a mechanism for getting the insurer representative and the claimant to resolve the transaction. Typically the insurer's representative and the claimant and/or her representative meet face to face or by telephone to negotiate and settle on a satisfactory sum, based on a variety of factors including but not limited to the severity of the harm, the financial position of the claimant, the cost of financing the settlement, and other relevant factors.
The individual collector is typically paid on a commission, i.e. receives payment based on the amount collected from the debtor. Payment on a commission basis can be contradictory to the goals of the creditor as it may encourage the collector to obtain minimal data regarding the debtor and the transaction when a more full and clear picture could increase the chances of adequately settling the transaction. For example, if the collector had information that the debtor lived in an area suffering from the consequences of a natural disaster, such as a flood or earthquake, and the creditor would be willing in such circumstances to forgive the debt for a period of time, such information might prompt the debtor to resolve the debt to her satisfaction and that of the creditor. However, without this information, a collector may simply press the debtor into a settlement having a significant chance of default in order to increase his commission. Collecting such information is time consuming and generally detracts from the overall compensation paid to the collector.
Further, while the collector wants the highest amount paid to enhance her individual commissions, the creditor seeks the highest overall recovery on the portfolio. Regarding the dichotomy between collecting the highest amount from an individual debtor and a highest overall recovery, a creditor can often recover more debt by recovering 30% of a $100 million portfolio at 70% settlement terms ($21 million) than by recovering 20% of the same $100 million portfolio at 90% ($18 million). Thus the use of overly aggressive tactics to collect one portion of a debt that adversely affect a creditor's ability to collect another portion of the debt, through word of mouth or other communications between debtors, can limit the total overall recovery by the creditor.
Typical costs for gathering information and recovering debt via collectors include salaries, commissions and operating and infrastructure costs (e.g., electricity, office space, furniture, desktop equipment and support, telephony equipment, operation and support, administrative support personnel, and accounting, etc.). Salaries and commissions are required not only for collecting the debt, but investigating the borrower and her ability to pay.
Debt collection is generally performed by entities that did not provide the funds but purchase the debt for a sum of money. These entities function solely for the purpose of collecting the debt, and as such have certain rights and restrictions on operation. When one of these entities seeks to collect a debt, the longer a debt remains delinquent, the debt increases due to interest fees and penalties. The overall the probability of recovery decreases over time. Large segments of debt fall “out of statute” and become legally unrecoverable after 7 years. Thus, obtaining relevant information, contacting debtors and settling accounts must occur within specified time frames. A further time complication is that debt buyers and sellers may not actively pursue accounts during the purchase, hold and sale of a debt portfolio.
In general, collectors typically have available the threat of litigation, posting of derogatory information on the debtor's credit bureau, and the offer of settlement at a reduced amount as their primary tools when dealing with the debtor. Collection practices generally are not optimized for best overall return. Rules of thumb are used to establish settlement amounts based on general past experience, but typically require some amount of investigation to, for example, establish whether reporting delinquent status to a credit bureau will have a measurable effect on a debtor and/or the ability for the debtor to pay a particular amount over time. The expense of the information gathering and the entire collection process does not allow for a great deal of tuning of the settlement offer to the individual debtor.
In other transaction resolution scenarios, including but not limited to insurance claim settlement, charitable pledging, political fundraising, and the like, certain activities are required that can increase costs and require personal presence, such as a person calling another individual via telephone, as well as ascertaining ability or willingness to pay or be paid a certain amount, and so forth. Such requirements can be inefficient and in certain instances difficult to obtain, cumbersome to employ, or information may be outright unavailable.
In light of the above, it would be desirable to have a system and method that improves the ability to collect information regarding a party for the purposes of resolving a transaction, such as collecting information for debt settlement and collection processes, over systems and methods previously employed for such purposes.